Commentary on Daniel, Chapter 9 · Doctrines 1 · Question 71
71. Quest. At what time of the yeare Christ was borne.
1. Epiphaenius opinion was, that Christ was borne vponupon the 6. day of Ianuarie,haeres. 51. vponupon which day he thinketh he wrought his first miracle in Cana of Galile, and before that 60. daies he was baptized: whereof he maketh this demonstration: after his baptisme he fasted 40. daies, then he went to Nazareth, and there staied 15. daies: then one day which was the 56. he staied with Iohn, who beeing absent, gaue that singular testimony of Christ: and the 57. Iohn beeing present called Christ the lambe of God, that tooke away the sinnes of the world: the 58. day Andrew followed Christ, and the 59. Christ called vntounto him Philip: and the 60. day was there a marriage in Cana of Galile, as vponupon which day Christ was borne. But here diuers things are vncertenly alleadged, as of Iesus staying in Nazareth 15. daies: and some of those things, which Epiphanius thinketh to hauehave beene vttered by Iohn of our Sauiour after his baptisme, Ioh. 1. were spoken before, as v. 26. there is one among you, &c. whose shooes latchet I am not worthie to vnloose: these words were vttered by Iohn-before the baptisme of our blessed Sauiour, Matth. 3. 11. And seeing the Euangelist calleth it the 3. day, wherein that miracle was done in Cana, c. 2. 1. how can he make it the 60. day, and the next day, after Christ had that conference with Philip; wheras it seemeth to be called the 3. day frō thence.
2. M. Lydyat agreeth with their opinion, whom Clemens Alexander. mentioneth, who held Christina…ale verna tempestate anni, Christs birth day to hauehave beene in the spring: and he alleadgeth Keplerus who leaueth it vncertaine, whether Christ were borne the 6. of Ianuarie, or the 19. of Aprill or May. M. Lydyats coniecture is, because the sheepheards are said to hauehave watched their sheep by night, which more agreeth with the spring time, when the lambes were young, and the rauenous beasts hauehave then their young also, and so are more greedie and desirous of their pray, p. 157. Contra. 1. But seeing there must be halfe a yeare betweene the season wherein Christ was baptized, & wherein he suffered, because he preached 3. yeares & an halfe after his baptisme, which was in the beginning of his 30. yeare, as S. Luke saith, c. 3. 23. then will his passion fall out in the middle, not in the ende of his last yeare, and the time of his birth must be halfe a yeare before, qu. 68. 2. The shepheards might watch their flockes as well at other times of the yeare, when they kept their sheepe abroad, as in the spring, because that countrey was full of wolues: the reason is giuen of their watching, because of their flocke, Luk. 2. 8. not of their young onelyonly.
3. The common and receiued opinion is, that our blessed Sauiour was borne about the 25. of December, and baptized 13. daies after that season, in the beginning of his 30. yeare, about the 6. of Ianuarie. But beside these coniectures, 1. that is not like that in the deepe of winter, the edict should come forth from Augustus to hauehave men called together to me chiefe citie of their tribe to be taxed: as Ioseph and Marie came to Bethlehem to be taxed, Luk. 2. 6. 2. or that in the cold time of winter the people went into the waters of Iordan to be baptized of Iohn. 3. beside these coniectures, this is an euident argument, that Christs birth was not so neare the Passeouer, because by Daniels prophesie here, there must be halfe a Propheticall weeke from the time of confirming the couenant, by the preaching of the Gospel, which was immediatly vponupon the baptisme of Christ, who was then entring into his 30. yeare, Luk. 3. 23. from the baptisme then of Christ, about which season he was borne, we must count. 3. yeares 6. moneths to the time of his passion.
4. VponUpon this reason Ber…aldus thinketh, that Christ was borne about the 14. or 15. of September, because 6. moneths after he suffered vponupon the 15. of the first monethmonth. Beside he taketh an other argument from the custome of the Grecians and Egyptians, who in memorie of Christs birth beganne their yeare in September, and the Imperiall indictions beganne then also: and this third reason he vrgeth; there were 24. courses of the Priests, 1. Chron. 24. who serued eueryevery monethmonth by couples: Abiahs course, of the which Zacharie was, was the 8. single course, 1. Chron. 24. 10. and the 4. double: these courses beganne in March: then Abiahs course fell out to be in Iune, the 4. monethmonth: immediatly after was Iohn Baptist conceiued, and 6. moneths after our blessed Sauiour, as may be gathered, Luk. 1. 26. 36. Iohn beeing then conceiued in Iune, must be borne 9. moneths after in March: And our blessed Sauiour must be conceiued in December, and his birth will fall out in the ninth monethmonth after, namely September: this reason also is pressed by Ioseph. Scalig.
M. Lively in his Persian Monarchie from p. 144. to p. 151. doth make this answer to Beroaldus reasons. 1. he answereth to the first reason taken from that place in Luk. 1. that Christs age can not be gathered out of that place, because it is said, he was about, or as it were 30. yeares old, which word importeth a doubtfull and imperfect number. 2. that place of Daniel is by some referred not to Christs preaching, but to the destruction of Ierusalem. 3. neither is it certen that Christ preached iust 3. yeares and an halfe: Ioseph. Scaliger maketh the time of his preaching foure yeares: some make it lesse, as is shewed before, qu. 69.
2. The Grecians and Egyptians beganne their yeare in September, in remembrance of Alexanders victorie against Darius: and the Imperiall indictions began then, because Constantine at that time began his raigne.
3. In the third reason many things are vncerten. 1. whether the Priests courses began in March. 2. whether they serued by weekes or moneths. 3. in the Iewes ancient chronicle, called Seder olam, in the last chap. it is affirmed, that Iehoiaribs course, which was the first, after the destruction of the first & second Temple, fell out in the 5. monethmonth Ab, which is in some part answerable to our Iuly. M. Lydyat also here answereth, that the courses of the Priests were changed after the captiuitie, p. 157. Ans. Though I am loath to contradict so generall & receiued an opinion cōcerning Christs birth, neither wil I take vponupon me to set down any thing positiuely & affirmatiuely therein: yet I will shew the vnsufficiencie of this answer, and propound certaine doubts out of the Scripture, which I wil leaue to the Readers consideration.
The 2. argument alleadged by Beroaldus, taken from the Grecians beginning of their yeare, and the Imperiall indictions, receiueth full satisfaction, and therefore I will not replie. To the 3. argument also a reasonable answer is made, sauing that it is not to be doubted, but that the monethmonth Nisau, answering in part to our March was the beginning of their yeare for all Ecclesiasticall busines, as was appointed by Moses, Exod. 12. 1. and it is most like, that the 24. courses went ouer eueryevery yeare, and so two serued monethly: and notwithstanding that testimonie out of the Iewish chronicle, the authoritie of the Scripture is more to be waighed, which testifieth, that the orders of the Leuites were renued after their returne frō the captiuitie in Nehemiahs time, according to the ordinance of Dauid the man of aNehem. 12. 24.God.
But the first reason taken from the age of Christ, when he was baptized, is not in mine opinion sufficiently answered: 1. whereas S. Luke saith, that Iesus began to b… about thirtie yeares of age, that particle foreign, Iosephus Scaliger taketh to be here, not foreign, a word of doubting, but foreign, a word of asseueration, and affirming: and what doubt can be here made, but that Iesus beganne then to be 30. yeare old, according to the very words? 2. that this prophesie of Daniel of the 70. weekes determineth in Christs death, is shewed before, quest. 49. neither can it hauehave any other meaning, without much wresting, as either with Iunius to read, after 62. weekes, after the Messiah is slaine: whereas the words are, after 62. weekes, the Messiah shall be slaine: or with M. Lively, to say that Messiah in this prophesie is not to be taken for Christ: both which may seeme in any mans iudgement▪ to be hard constructions of the text. 3. If this place then be vnderstood of the Messiah, there must of necessitie be halfe a weeke allowed for his preaching: and it is the generall receiued opinion of old and new, that Christ preached 3. yeares and a halfe: and it is more inconuenient to denie that, then that Christ was borne in December.
Now then, though for mine owne part, in a matter indifferent and probable, I am loath to goe against antiquitie; yet this first reason I must confesse, grounded vponupon the authoritie of Daniel for the space of 3. yeares and an halfe from Christs beginning to preach vntounto his death, and of S. Luke for Christs entring into 30. yeares when he was baptized, hath so preuailed with me, that I thinke it very probable, that Christs birth was nearer September, then December: And howsoeuer it is, there must needes be some error in the account of time, in keeping Christs natiuitie day the 25. of December, seeing in the reuolution of 16. hundred yeares, there may well be lost so many daies of the iust reckoning: from hence now may be gathered the true distance betweene the baptisme and the passion of Christ, which shall be distinctly handled in the next question.